Tag Archives: christianity

Today, Evelyn Puerto is hanging out with the Scribes. She comes to us with exciting experiences and a story to be shared! Welcome, Evelyn!

Thank you, Scribes, and thank you, Katy. For 12 years I served as a missionary and traveled to many dangerous places in the world. I think the most risky trip was flying to Kathmandu a week after a coup had shut down the airport for a few days. I wasn’t really sure the airport would stay open so I could leave, and rumors were flying about civil war flaring up.

After I returned from being a missionary in Russia, I got married, inheriting three stepdaughters, two stepgrandsons and a cat. Loving the people who came into my life with my husband has been a joy, even when my writing time is interrupted to help a stepdaughter with a car insurance problem. All fodder for another book some day!

And speaking of books and my writing…

Beyond the Rapids is the true story of Ukrainian pastor Alexei Brynza, who served as a Baptist pastor during the final decades of the Soviet Union. He and his wife endured fierce persecution as they struggled to raise their four children as believers in a culture hostile to Christianity, living under a regime determined to stamp out their faith. The Brynzas’ children, forced to choose between God and the communist system, wrestled with temptations of ambition, popularity, love and wealth. Beyond the Rapids is a story of the grace and mercy God extends to His faithful people, and how He helps them triumph over seemingly undefeatable foes.

I met the Brynzas when I traveled to Ukraine while I was serving as a missionary based in Russia. Their warmth and joy as they shared their stories captivated me. Beyond the Rapids compiles their inspiring stories, and reminds us afresh that God is bigger than any trial we face.

In writing Beyond the Rapids I bounced between believing in the story and thinking that what I was writing was mind-numbingly dull. The best way to get past that is to get lots of feedback. But that can be harder than it seems. After I had my first draft finished, I asked four or five people to read it. The only comments I got back were general statements along the lines of “I liked it.” My big mistake was not finding other people to read my book. Instead, I kept rewriting based on what I thought needed to be improved. I only started feeling confident in Beyond the Rapids after I had gotten several reviews from people I didn’t know. For me, finding honest critics who can offer specific suggestions for improvement while being encouraging is the key. If I know what the problem is, I can rewrite it. It’s the nagging feeling that something— but I don’t know what —is wrong that creates the most doubt.

My biggest misstep in my writing career was a mistake I made from the beginning. Looking back, I can’t imagine why I was so blind. What I did was start writing, thinking I had a clue what I was doing. I had no idea that writing groups and critique groups and conferences even existed. For someone who loves research as much as I do, I can’t believe that during the eight or so years I was writing Beyond the Rapids I didn’t stumble on one of these groups. I would have learned so much and found people who would have offered constructive criticism. That would have saved me a lot of time and many, many rewrites.

As for what’s to come after Beyond the Rapids, lately I’ve been thinking of trying science fiction, which is completely different from the biography/true story genre of my first book. I was enthralled with The Hunger Games, and am inspired to try a bit of world building to see what I could come up with. I’ve got part of the story figured out in my head already, and plan to start seriously working on it in January.

And if I couldn’t be a writer anymore, I’d want to go on the speaker circuit. This is almost shocking for me to admit, since I’ve spent most of my life terrified of public speaking. I started working on my ability to speak in front of groups in order to market my books. Once I got past my fear, I was surprised by how much I enjoy it and that I seem to have a gift for it. Instead of writing my stories, I could share them orally.